Pages

I am a born and raised Saskatchewan girl, that means, I know we never put the winter clothes away and we keep the summer ones at hand, because in the heart of winter, seeing shorts is all the hope I’ll need to face another blistery day.

I like the way I write that without a swear word, it comes off nice and fun, almost pleasant. It should be, right?

I guess the snow isn't the problem. I see the newbies out there taking pictures of it and writing home about all the "happy snow". Snow is fun. I mean, look how happy my dog is. She has no idea yet how freaking cold it is about to get.

And it is the cold that sucks the vitamin D out of us, not literally of course. What happens is that the sun shines-- it shines a lot around here-- and it's deceiving because the only way to enjoy it is with layers and layers that no warm rays will ever penetrate.

As I shake out my ski-pants, I feel hard core, I must be, after all I choose to live this way, and no, it's not all fun. I know it’s going to get cold and I’m secretly looking forward to it. Does everyone remember last year when it reached minus 46C (that's like -50F for you non-Canadians)? Hell yeah, it was so awesome my snot froze in under three seconds. I still get excited talking about it. The kids missed school five times because of the cold, and when I say that it’s with pride, because we don’t close school at no sissy temperatures around here.
We don’t really live in Saskatchewan until the temperatures drop from fun to bitchy. That’s when all the excitement happens out on the prairies: Skating, shoveling, hockey, BBQing challenges, pushing out the car, snowboarding, shoveling (did I mention that already), skiing, digging, snowshoeing, boosting the car, skidooing, curling, checking the weather, warming the car, putting on the layers of clothes, building snowmen and women, maybe even a family, sledding, falling down the icy stairs, ice sculptures, making "tire" (pronounced TEERE. It is warm maple syrup-- or some other imitation since this is Saskatchewan-- on the snow... yum!!!), shoveling again, (let's face it, it never ends)... Maybe it’s how we fight the depletion of vitamin D but I always feel so busy in the winter!

Regardless, my car gear is packed, just need to throw in a Snickers, I got mighty hungry last year pushing myself out of the snow. My family has their winter layers ready- fat, long underwear, shirt, sweater, jacket, ski-pants, parka, toque, mitts, scarves... did I miss anything? and then slipping on those ugly ten pound winter boots is always a joy, in fact we keep them displayed on the rack as if they’re a monument we couldn’t live without-- well, to be fair, we couldn’t.
Any good winter stories? I could use a laugh.

A magical THANKS to all the readers, critique partners, editors, all those at the publishing end who make this shine so perfectly. Quoting Steve from the story, they helped me highlight the weirdness "just right".

This story started almost twenty years ago. I'd wanted to make it a horror story about a girl who gets kidnapped but once she's free, she returns to kidnap her captor. In an eerie sense, those elements are still in the story, it just somehow grew as Steve and Julia found their magic and discovered who they really were.

My husband and children believe in me and my dark side, I owe them so much and appreciate all they do so I can write!!!!, and I hope that one day, if this goes well, I can show off my light side, making everything balance just right between the realms of writing and life.

Now it is up to my fans and readers to enjoy the magic from The Dark Chronicles. Thanks for taking the time to dream with me and visit other realms, where everything is not what it seems, and your dreams can become nightmares with one word.

The Dark Chronicles – banished immortals and their struggle to return to heaven Elsewhen Press publishes Can’t Dream Without You, the first of The Dark Chronicles from rising star of Canadian speculative fiction, Tanya Reimer. DARTFORD, KENT – 8 January 2016 – Elsewhen Press, an independent UK publisher specialising in Speculative Fiction, is delighted to announce the publication today of Can’t Dream Without You by Canadian author Tanya Reimer, the first of her tales from The Dark Chronicles. Legends say that, tens of thousands of years ago, Whisperers were banished from the heavens, torn in half, and dumped on a mortal realm that they didn’t understand. Longing for their other halves, they went from being powerful immortals to lonely leeches relying on humans to survive. Over the years, they earned magic from demons, they left themselves Notebooks with hints, and by pairing up with human souls, they eventually found their other halves. Humbled by their experiences, they discovered the true purpose of life and many were worthy of returning to the heavens. But many were not. The Dark Chronicles are stories that share the heartache of select unworthy Whisperers on their journey back to immortality after The War of 2019. Can’t Dream Without You is one such story, in which we meet Steve and Julia. Steve isn’t a normal boy. He plays with demons, his soul travels to a dream realm at night using mystical butterflies, and soon he’ll earn the power to raise the dead. Al thinks that destroying him would do the world a favour, yet he just can’t kill his own son. Wanting to acquire the power that raises the dead before Steve does, Al performs a ritual on Steve’s sixteenth birthday. He transfers Steve’s dark magic to Julia, an innocent girl he plans to kill. But Steve is determined to save Julia and sucks her soul to Dreamland. From the dream world, he invokes the help of her brother to keep her safe. Five years later, Steve can’t tell what’s real or what’s a nightmare. Julia’s brother wants to kill him, a strange bald eagle is erasing memories, and Steve’s caught in some bizarre bullfight on another realm with a cop hot on his trail looking to be Julia’s hero. All the while, Steve and Julia must fight the desperate need to make their steamy dreams a reality. Can’t Dream Without You is published in digital editions today by Elsewhen Press. It will be published in a print edition in April. About Elsewhen PressElsewhen Press is an independent publisher of Speculative Fiction. Based in the UK, in the South East of England, Elsewhen Press publishes titles in English in digital and print editions, adopting a digital-first policy for most titles and a digital-only policy for some. Elsewhen Press is an imprint of Alnpete Limited.

Happy readings!! And before you go, let me know, if you've ever written or read something that you wanted to turn out a certain way yet find yourself years later looking at something so different, yet just right.